2018-05-19 13:03

Hi guys,

First of all sorry for the long delay. I really didn´t plan taking the writing of this text that long
and it is obvious predominately due to my lousy time management, but the fellow in the first picture
holding the trophy (that’s not me btw….) had definitely his share.



And secondly i like to thank pete for his great idea of creating RZA. I first came in touch with pete
probably about 10 years ago at TOG, where his son and me shared franchises in the same league. We
wrote messages back and forth and I would never have believed that we would still be in touch over
such a long period of time.
But next to creating his own game this guy had an even bigger idea in creating a tournament with a
real life reward. I can really tell you, being able to possess a “real” trophy and being able to show
them to friends is marvelous. It is now located on a commode in my living room and looking at it
fosters pride.



That is actually me holding the trophy. Pete asked me to show you some pics of my home town and
since I didn´t want to disappoint pete I took my camera and made some shots of the capital of
Germany and one of the larger cities in Europe, Berlin.



This is the street i live in and the depicted house being built around 1900 is pretty typical for this
borough. Many people think that after the 2 nd world war Berlin had to be built up totally from the
ground, but this is actually not valid for all districts. At least here in the Prenzlauer Berg there is still a
variety of houses dating back from the so called “Gründerzeit” between 1880 to 1914.



Also dating back to those days is this typical subway station, which is running above-ground on two
sections in Berlin. The graffitis on the picture certify the topicality of this shot.



This is just a nice impression of the sidewalk below the train rail from the last picture...pretty useful
during showers of rain.



And while we are speaking about graffiti: probably common for an urban environment you can´t walk
through Berlin these days without discovering streetart. Maybe those rats running up this house
aren´t not quite comparable to Banksy, but they are funny to watch nonetheless.



This picture is also pretty characteristic for Berlin, but it is a look you probably won´t find in any
tourist guide at all. Those building located next to the railway are typical working class houses and
probably still pretty cheap in rent.



Berlin is also known for his large number of parks giving enough space for recreation and
contemplation. Many parks are named after historical figures and you will find plenty of statues
while walking through Berlin. The picture above was taken in the Schilllerpark and so the bronze guy
is Schiller, who lived in the 18 th century and who is one of Germanys most important playwrighter.
Did anyone note the graffiti at the walls in the back?



With more than 12.5 million people visiting the town a year Berlin is a touristic centre. It still has a
myriad of buildings from the late 19th century. The picture above shows one of the most famous
ones: the „Berliner Dom“ is the greatest protestantic church in Germany. Its crypta is visitable and
contains the bones of many queens and kings.



One of the nicest places in Berlin is the Gendarmenmarkt, a wide square from the 18 th century
containing three buldings. Two of those are shown in the pic, the “Konzerthaus” on the left is one of
the better addresses to listen to classical music in Berlin, while the “Frazösischer Dom” (originally a
church) contains a viewing platform and a Hugenot museum. The Gendarmenmarkt was vastly
destroyed in the 2 nd world war and rebuilt afterwards.



After the 2nd world war Berlin (as well as Germany) was divided into four sectors and with the
beginning of the cold war the infamous Berlin Wall was erected. The Checkpoint Charlie is shown
above and it was one of the few crossing points between East and West Berlin. In 1961 the site
located in the center of the city witnessed a dramatic stand-off between soviet and American tanks.
Today the Checkpoint Charlie is a mostly crowded tourist site where you can take pics wearing cold
war uniforms, hats, gas masks or whatever you like.



Evening impression of the Fernsehturm located at probably the most famous spot in Berlin, the
Alexanderplatz. The Fernsehturm is the largest building in Berlin and was erected as a symbol of
Communist power in the late 1960s. As you can imagine it provides a spectacular view over the city.



One of the weirdest objects to find in Berlin is the so called Weltzeituhr (world clock). It is also
located at the Alexanderplatz and it shows the current time in 148 major cities. I don´t know exactly
why, but since its erection in 1969 it has become a huge tourist attraction and ‘let´s meet at the
Weltzeituhr’ is a common saying in Berlin.



My final picture shows the Brandenburg Gate in the sunset. While the wall divided Berlin it was
located directly at the border and after the unification it became a symbol for the peaceful revolution
and for Germany itself.

So, thank you very much for the story and the pictures! It is a real pleasure to have managers like Notsch in RedZoneAction.org, and of course Notsch deserves the trophy and the pride that comes along with it. Now, this was the real final act for IECC3, and we can go for the next International Elite Challenge Cup soon. And, the real honour for creating this format called IECC goes of course to MTS1972! Cheers, Mark!

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